THE BIRDS OF TEE ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS. 693 



Old birds take to trees like jungle fowl. Mr, Hume describes their note as a 

 cackling ' kuk-a-kuk-kuk ' quickly repeated. A few have been turned out 

 in the Andamans, but nothing more was seen of them. 



It is surprising that the Megapod seems to hold its owa in spite of the 

 regular destruction of its eggs, the breeding places being mostly known to 

 the Nicobarese and regularly plundered ; yet the birds are from all accounts 

 not much less numerous than formerly. 



I have not included the Peafowl in my list. Mr. Hume has it as an 

 introduced species, but though numerous at some of the farms and villages 

 in the settlement, they are all more or less domesticated and appear neither 

 to spread nor increase greatly. 



Note. — Since I wrote the above Lieut. St John. Comnaauding R. I. M. S. Elphinttune, 

 has published in this Journal some interesting notes on the Megapnd, (Vol. XII, No. 1, 

 p. 212), and in the same paper gives the fullest account yet published of the Narcondam 

 Hornbill.— [A. L. B.] 



1385. TuRXix ALBiVENTRis, Hume. Blanf,, IV, p. 154; '" Str, Feath., " 

 II, p. 281. 



The Nicobar Button Quail is common on those of the Nicobar Islands that 

 have undulating plains of grass land. On Teressa I saw more than any- 

 where else, and on Camotta it is fairly numerous. On Car Nicobar, where 

 there are only a few large open patches of grass, it is not plentiful, being 

 considerably out-numbered by the little Blue-breasted Quail. 



Its habits are those of other small button quails. I procured a young bird 

 in August that was probably bred in June or July. It is difl&cult to get good 

 specimens of this quail, as they rise within a few feet from the rank waist- 

 high grass, whirr along for twenty-five yards or so only, and then drop again 

 to be seen no more unless you have a dog. However after some trouble I 

 managed to get some perfect skins. 



It has been obtained in the Andamans, but there it is extremely rare. 



1390. HYroTCENiDiA OBSCURIOR, Hume. Blanf., IV, p. 162 j "Str. Feath,,"' 

 II, p. 302, 



Common in both groups, but a very skulking bird and seldom flushed. It 

 frequents forest a good deal, as well as paddy-land, marshes, S:c., and I 

 caught several in thick jungle in traps set for for Euryzona canninrj'f. The 

 power of hiding themselves which these rails have is extraordinary ; en one 

 occasion I saw one fly -to, and settle in, a small patch of tussocky grass not 

 ten yards square and surrounded by bare dried mud, with no other cover 

 for thirty yards. Making sure of this bird I beat the little patch over and 

 over again j I then searched most carefully among the roots until I had 

 trodden the whole patch completely flat, but never a sign of that rail did I 

 see again. There were a lot of crab holes among the tussocks, and I imagine 

 he must have got down one of these. The note of this rail is a deep croak 

 very like that of the Chesnut Rail. One often hears tins deep croak in the 



